Thread cleaner and thread cleaner blade



arch 24, 1936. w. YOUNG 2,034,853

THREAD CLEANER AND THREAD CLEANER BLADE Filed Jply 16, 1934 v INVENTOR. fmi/ W. Yul/n ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 24, 1936 PATENT OFFIE THREAD CLEANER AND THREAD CLEANER BLADE Emil W. Young, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application July 16, 1934, Serial No. 735,392

4 Claims.

The invention relates to thread cleaners and thread cleaner blades, such as are used on textile machines of various types for removing and detecting flufi, lint, slubs, knots, foreign matter, enlargements or other imperfections from or on threads or other filaments. It is a further improvement on the invention disclosed in my copending application for Thread cleaners, Serial No. 623,767.

It has for one of its objects to provide a thread cleaner and sets of thread cleaner blades which, in addition to the advantages disclosed in my copending application, will greatly relieve the strain on the traverse beam on which such cleaners are generally mounted, which will occupy less space, which will effect even better cleaning of the thread, and which will greatly reduce wear on the blades.

Another object is to so construct the cleaner frame that no lint or other matter can accumulate to interfere with the sideward movement of the cleaner blades. A further object is to provide means whereby the cleaner blade units may be very accurately adjusted for cleaning threads of various sizes. A still further object is to provide means for detecting the accidental use of improperly sized cleaner blade units.

Additional objects are to provide a thread cleaner and thread cleaner blades of simple, accurate and strong construction, which can be readily attached to any machine where such devices are used, in which the blades can be adjusted with the least expenditure of labor and with no danger of error, and in which the setting of the blades can not be tampered with.

These and various other objects and advantages will be readily understood from the following description and from the accompanying drawing of preferred embodiments in which, however, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the improved thread cleaner,

Fig. 2 a side view of same showing it in the position in which it is generally secured to the traverse beam,

Fig. 3 a top view of same,

Fig. 4 a bottom view of the cleaner blade unit,

Fig. 5 a plan view of one of the parts of the cleaner blade unit.

' Fig. 6 a rear view of a part of a slightly modified cleaner blade unit,

Fig. 7 a side view of the modified unit,

Fig. 8 a part employed in the modified unit, and.

Fig. 9 a wrench used in connection with the modified cleaner blade unit.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the device consists of a frame Ill which is provided with a plurality of slots H at its upper end. A bracket I2 is sheared from the frame and bent rearwardly, while an opening l3, larger than the opening left by the shearing of the bracket I2, 10 is punched in the center of the frame. A hole I4 is punched in the lower end of the frame to receive a thread guide l5 of any standard type.

A cleaner blade socket l6, such for example as any of the sockets shown in my above-mentioned, l5 co-pending application, is pivotally mounted be low the bracket I2, on a rivet H. The front end of the socket extends into the opening l3 and the sideward movements of the socket is limited by the edges l8 and IQ of this opening.

The cleaner blade units consist of a plate to which blade brackets 2| and 22 are riveted. The plate 20 engages in the socket I6 and is firmly held in the socket'by means of a flat spring 23, the ridged front edge of which engages in a groove 24 formed transversely on the top face of the plate. While I prefer to use the particular engaging means just described, it is understood that any of the other methods shown in my co-pending application, or for that matter other engaging means, may be used.

The cleaner blades 25 and 26, which are made from a steel bar, are hardened, accurately ground and lapped on their thread-engaging faces. They are spaced apart by a short spacer 21, of a thickness which will give the exact width desired to the thread slot 28, and are riveted between the brackets 2| and. 22 by means of a large eyelet 29. The blades, the spacer and the brackets are preferably riveted together before the brackets are 40 riveted to the plate 2|]. By doing this it is possible to have the slots and. 3|, in which the shouldered ends 32 of the brackets are inserted, of considerably greater width than the thickness of the metal of which the brackets are made. This makes it possible to assemble the blades with various thicknesses of spacers between them and rivet them together with the brackets. The variation in the widths of such assemblies are taken care of by the extra width of the slots 30 and 3|, still when the ends of the brackets are riveted they fill the slots and are securely fastened to the plate 20.

It has been found advantageous to make the shouldered ends 32 somewhat longer than seemingly necessary, so that when the brackets are riveted to the plate 20 the cleaner blades will engage against the plates rather than the shoulders 33 of the brackets. This is plainly shown in Fig. 2.

The frame ll] is preferably formed with a bend 34 near its upper edge so that it will assume the position shown in Fig. 2 when it is attached to the transverse beam 35 with screws 36 as shown. However, the angle of this bend may be varied so as to suit the various machines on which the device may be used.

Referring now to Figs. 6, '7, 8 and 9 in which a modification of the cleaner blade unit is shown. In this instance a single bracket 37 is riveted to the plate 20 and this bracket carries a stud 38 which is threaded at its outer end and provided with a nut 39. The cleaner blades are mounted on this stud and a spacer 48, such as shown in detail in Fig. 8, is used to separate the blades and give the correct width to the thread slot. The spacer is provided with a slot 4| which straddles the stud 38 so that it may be withdrawn from between the blades Without removing the cleaner blades or the nut from the stud. An enlargement 42, which provides a handle grip, is also provided on the spacer so as to facilitate its handling.

To prevent anyone, except those authorized, from removing the nuts 39 and thus Withdraw the spacer, an angular slot 43 is cut in the nut. A wrench 44 is provided which has a socket 45 in one end. This socket fits over the nut and an angular insert 46 engages with the slot 43, so that the nut may be tightened, or loosened by means of this wrench only.

As it is customary to use a number of these devices on a single machine, and as it is customary to have all of the thread cleaners set for threads of the same thickness, it is highly advisable to provide the cleaner blade units with some identification mark which will plainly indicate the size of thread which they will clean. In some cases the blades or the blade units have been stamped with numerals indicating the width of the thread slot, but, except a person carefully examines each thread cleaner unit, it is diflicult from a distance to discover the use of a wrong size which might have slipped in between the sizes required on the machine. To overcome these difficulties I apply a distinct color to the outside of each of the cleaner blades in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 5 so that each thread slot size is differentiated by its own particular color. It will readily be seen that a wrong color will be almost immediately discovered. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 to 9, it is not necessary to color the blades but only the enlarged part 42 of the spacer 4D.

The outer ends of all the cleaner blades are bent outwardly from each other as shown in 4'! and 48. Not only does this aid in the insertion of the thread 49 in the thread slot 28, but the bent ends form a convenient finger grip which makes it easy to remove the blade unit from the socket I 6.

It will be noted that by having the movements of the socket l6 limited by the edges I8 and IQ of the opening I3, there is no danger that lint or other foreign matter might accumulate between the socket and these edges and so prevent the full movements of the socket. Any lint which might drop over the sides of the socket would drop into the opening 13 and thus not interfere with the movements of the socket.

From the aforegoing it will be seen that the present device provides a thread cleaner which may readily be adopted on any machine on which such devices are used, that it provides extremely simple means for changing the blade units without disturbing the frame, that it assures the free sideward movements of the socket and the blades, that it eliminates the danger of a wrong size cleaner blade unit being employed, and that the modification shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8 provides a device which will effect a great saving in that, by using various thicknesses of spacers, the blade units may be built up to clean any size of thread. Furthermore the wide contact faces of the cleaner blades assures long wear and better cleaning.

Having described my invention and its objects, what I claim is new and wish to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A thread cleaner comprising a frame having means for attaching it to the machine on which it is to be used, an opening formed in the frame, a horizontal bracket extending rearwardly adjacent to the top of said opening, a cleaner blade socket pivotally secured to the under side of said bracket so as to allow sideward movements to the socket, said socket adapted to hold a cleaner blade unit which will extend through said opening, and the side edges of the opening in the frame limiting the sideward movements of the said socket and the cleaner blade unit.

2. A thread cleaner comprising a frame having means for attaching it to the machine on which it is to be used, an opening formed in the frame, a horizontal bracket extending rearwardly adjacent to the top of said opening, a cleaner blade socket pivotally secured to the under side of said bracket so as to allow sideward movements to the socket, said socket adapted to hold a cleaner blade unit which will extend through said opening, the side edges of the opening in the frame limiting the sideward movements of the said socket and the cleaner blade unit, and the opening itself forming a means for preventing accumulations of foreign matters from interfering with the sideward movements.

3. A thread cleaner comprising a frame having means for attaching it to the machine on which it is to be used, an opening formed in the frame, a horizontal bracket extending rearwardly adjacent to the top of said opening, a cleaner blade socket pivotally secured to the under side of said bracket so as to allow sideward movements to the socket, said socket adapted to hold a cleaner blade unit which will extend through said opening, the side edges of the opening in the frame limiting the sideward movements of the said socket and the cleaner blade unit, and means associated with the socket and with the cleaner blade unit for assuring the insertion of the unit in its correct position in the socket.

4. A thread cleaner comprising a frame having means for attaching it to the machine on which it is to be used, an opening formed in the frame, a horizontal bracket extending rearwardly adjacent to the top of said opening, a cleaner blade socket pivotally secured to the under side of said bracket so as to allow sideward movements to the socket, said socket adapted to hold a cleaner blade unit which will extend through said opening, the side edges of the opening in the frame limiting the sideward movements of the said socket and the cleaner blade unit, and means associated with the said socket for restraining the cleaner blade unit from movement in the direction in which the thread passes through the device.

EMIL W. YOUNG. 

